All 37 entries tagged Music

March 02, 2007

Sometimes you feel you’ve seen all you need to see before you die. [1] Last night, me and my friend Mikey witnessed a guitar master class, not so much by Dave Matthews, but rather his buddy Tim Reynolds. An Acoustic Evening with Dave Matthews thus became An Acoustic Evening with Dave Matthews and Guitar Magician and One Man Band Tim Reynolds. The following clip is from the Belfast show (we were in Manchester last night), and is a bit blurry, and doesn’t show that much, but I hope you can still recognize Mr Reynolds’ awesomeness! (He’s the guy on the left)

The show was sort of an updated version of what you can hear on Live at Luther College , possibly only interesting for music or guitar students. As we were listening to The Feeling on the way there, I got a bit worried, as Dave’s songs often aren’t as catchy single material, and Dave can get carried away letting his voice hover over the chords, but it was all good: Mikey thought it was more than worth the drive along many roadworks, and now wants the magic distortion box that Tim used.

January 21, 2007

Honestly, country music is a goldmine! The easy rhythm helps me get into a steady workpace too! Anyway – here are the lovely lyrics to Jason Aldean’s very catchy Amarillo Sky:

He gets up before the dawn
Packs a lunch an’ a thermos full of coffee
It’s another day in the dusty haze
Those burnin’ rays are wearin’ down his body
The diesels worth the price of gold
It’s the cheapest grain he’s ever sold
But he’s still holdin’ on

He just takes the tractor another round
An’ pulls the plow across the ground
And sends up another prayer
He says: “Lord, I never complain, I never ask: ‘Why?’
“Please don’t let my dreams run dry
“Underneath, underneath this Amarillo Sky”

That hail storm back in ‘83
Sure did take a toll on his family
But he stayed strong and carried on
Just like his Dad and Granddad did before him
On his knees every night
He prays: “Please let my crops and children grow”
‘Cause that’s all he’s ever known

He just takes the tractor another round
An’ pulls the plow across the ground
And sends up another prayer
He says: “Lord, I never complain, I never ask: ‘Why?’
“Please don’t let my dreams run dry
“Underneath, underneath this Amarillo Sky”

An’ he takes the tractor another round (Another round)
Another round (Another round)
Another round
An’ he takes the tractor another round, another round
He says: “I never complain, I never ask: ‘Why?’
“Please don’t let my dreams run dry
“Underneath, underneath this Amarillo Sky
“Underneath this Amarillo Sky”

January 17, 2007

I watch Ugly Betty. It’s funny in a simple way. I still have to see if the show works on more than one level though.

I finally managed to get a proper copy of Grim Fandango, simply the best adventure game I’ve played. It turns out I still remember most tricks – unfortunate in one way, but it helps getting the amazing plot along!

In Grim Fandango you play Manny Calavera, some undead guy with a Spanish accent. After a while you remember what his voice sounds like, as you need to talk a lot in this game.

Tonight I watched Ugly Betty again. And I heard Manny Calavera! He is Betty’s dad! It’s honestly the most exciting cross-media revelations I’ve encountered, ever. The actor’s called Tony Plana, if you’re interested, and apparently he’s been in 24 series 4 too. Talented man. Great voice.

In the mean time, I’m listening to 3cdigital, a country music radio station – trust me, it’s soothing – and the song now playing sounds exactly like Ghetto Superstar! Or at least the chorus does. Oh, obviously Wikipedia knows all and the song is Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s Islands in the Stream.

December 21, 2006

Will I lose my dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I wake tomorrow,
from this nightmare?

It’s a shame and a blessing this song is so utterly depressing, as it means we’ll never do it in Rev.

RENT is anything but depressing. Unfortunately I’ve been too late with my career moves [1] to see the stage version, but with widescreen and surround sound and an amazing adaptation, the film takes away the need to spend a fortune to watch this live. Instead, after having seen it 3+ times in one week, I can honestly say it doesn’t lose any of its impact.

Apparently, I’ve been informed, the film gains its strength from the director’s approach. Chris Columbus – famous for directing and producing such great films as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Stepmom, and Home Alone – managed to attract some of the original Broadway cast, and as such kept some of the stage elements of the screenplay, hardly focussing on a single person, but showing the interactions between the characters. It seems to draw out the similarities between the characters, rather than their differences, which is a good thing when we’re talking about seasons of love.

I’m not too sure why I love it so much. Usually I try to find a reason to give less than 5 stars in a review, but I’m actively trying to have everyone I know to see this film. It’s got characters for everyone to enjoy – although most of them are artists (bohemians) to some extent, there is the geek, the introvert, the extrovert, the madwoman, the businesswoman – and it’s got diverse musical influences with 80s house, gospel and soul, 90s rock, though mostly in a musical flavour.

Earlier today, I told someone it’s about New York, love, bills, and AIDS. Rich (my other housemate) thought he’d elaborate and said he appreciated the juxtaposition [2] of the wealthy, moneymaking individuals, and the poor but loving and funmaking group of tenants. I appreciate that it isn’t a musical just about a romantic story, but that it shows so much about the society of the setting.

I was a bit worried after seeing the placid film adaption of Phantom of the Opera, which seemed to have combined the worst parts of stage and cinema. However, RENT is simply wonderful, so let me know when you want to see it! [3]

1 Most tragically, being born too late to actually be aware of this musical in theatres in a place I could easily get too at a later stage in my life.

2 He didn’t actually say juxtaposition I think, but Alice of Vicar of Dibley used it earlier today and it got stuck in my head.

3 But please wait until I’ve actually managed to leave the country despite the fog, and then wait till I have come back in the new year.

November 28, 2006

Ever been to what used to be Soul Nation? It was a bit like that inside, but then not as sweaty. And not as smoky. And not as aggressive. Basically a massive Christian dancehall party. Well. And with gospel songs. The DJ and compere played the impatient crowd (having paid 30 quid and already waiting 2 hours for the main act) just about right, having them sing one of the most uplifting and groovy gospel songs (In the sanctuary, by Kurt Carr) as one massive gospel choir. The support didn’t do too bad either, though apart from an great upcoming voice (Roger Samuels) lacked in quality what it had in energy.

Then there was Kirk.

Kirk Franklin is probably the most successful gospel artist alive. Not related to Aretha as far as I know, and mainly working behind the scenes and letting his lyrics and choir do the work for him. He has worked with many famous artists such as Stevie Wonder, Mary J Blige, R Kelly, and U2’s Bono. Anyway, if you’re interested I’m sure you can find out all the good bad and ugly about this man. Or if you’re more interested in what he does, here’s a clip of one of his most accessible stuff.

I’m actually not sure how to review what happened between Kirk entering the stage, and us breathing fresh air. Not having had any proper food all day nor having had much sleep this weekend kind of put me in some standby mode to begin with. I remember grooving lots and thunder clapping Bajan style and holding hands with random people and having a group hug with more random people and holding A Lovely Day for lots of beats over and over again and freaking out another random person for coming in with the Melodies from Heaven harmony. And I remember trying to take a photo with Ali’s phone but being so not with it that once I was happy with the everchanging composition I realized I had my thumb on the wrong button. And I remember the pianist singing in the singing contest whilst no one was paying attention. Even he could sing. And I remember miming the piano bit and Kirk jumping into the crowd and everyone singing bye bye bye bye bye, bye bye bye bye bye bye bye etcetera. It was great. Wish you were there. Low battery now though.

November 27, 2006

Once in a while I listen to Premier – a Christian radio station that plays some good funky gospel between 11pm-1am. It was there I found out about Israel Houghton playing London. It was there I found out Kirk Franklin was playing London. It was Thursday night when I found out. The concert was last night. Maybe not exactly impulsive, it was one of the crazier things we’ve done in the house.

Spent the weekend with Rev in Olton, Birmingham, doing the usual: singing songs (quite a lot actually, for a weekend away), sleeping and freezing on church floors. I taught a song I wasn’t too sure about, but everyone loved it, though according to Ali it might be because of my chicken on drugs performance, or my face lighting up whenever the tenors (i.e. Jonny and two girls) came in with their harmony.

Got back 1pm on Sunday, ready to leave for Hammersmith, London, 2.30pm. I cheered when tomtom said we would take the M40, but then it guided us along the M4 for some reason as well, where we spent the larger part of our journey down. Through some miracle we managed to find a parking space a 5 minute walk away from Hammersmith Palais, yet we could practically join the queue there. The doors were bound to open 6.30pm, but that’s about the time we joined the queue. That is, the queue to pick up our tickets. Which we didn’t get till 8pm.

We queued a lot actually. To get to Hammersmith, there was only one exit lane which was crammed. The fact that some thought they were too good to queue and do some last minute merging didn’t help. Similar problem in the ticket queue. So what do you do? It seems like most people just hope someone else says something about it. I thought I’d use my Dutchness and loudly proclaim my dilemma with people jumping queues. At least the people behind us knew we were on their side, so helped them stay ahead of the sneaks.

On the way back, tomtom had the great idea of sending us up the M1. She forgot there were roadworks. Even beyond tired, Ali used mathematical wit and picked the outside lane. Indeed, it was the fastest. Mainly because eventually all 3 lanes were supposed to merge on the inside lane. It was worth it though. We saw 3 Noonoos and a man with a fire spitting machine.

November 02, 2006

I’m looking for a personal assistant. You will be in charge of my expenditure, and ensure I don’t buy more on campus than the daily newspaper, a banana, and a bag of crisps. And the occasional bit of chocolate. Salary depends on the number of CDs you’ll refrain me from buying.

June 12, 2006

The wonders of iTunes are slowly conquering my music buying behaviour. I noticed this band in the top downloads and following results in the past, I know that I usually appreciate music by bands called The .... The sound snippets predicted a nice album for the summer and with MTV showing Naive every second I zapped by there was no way I could resist.

The three stars say it all. It's definitely not a waste of money, and the album is very coherent – not a selection of singles like the Kaiserchiefs' work nor fluctuating quality in the tracks that Snow Patrol have. As a result there's nothing exceptional about this album. Summer evening music. That's all I can think of.